Chapter 55: Professor Authority
The two men returned to work. For the next few hours, they focused on analyzing the 3D scanning data.
Leonard had completed the first round of feature extraction and discovered some interesting phenomena: under specific conditions, quantum oscillation signals appeared in surface state transport, but the periodicity showed a slight deviation from theoretical predictions.
"This might be related to sample strain," Leonard said, pointing at the data curve on the screen. "We need to re-examine the preparation process."
David leaned in to observe carefully. "Interesting. If it really is a strain effect, we might need to design new experiments to verify it."
They worked until two in the morning. When David finished saving the last dataset, his neck made a slight "crack" sound. He'd been working continuously for over six hours.
"Time to call it a night," Leonard said, yawning. "I'm starting to show signs of cognitive decline—I almost mistyped the electron charge by three orders of magnitude just now."
David smiled, then shut down the computer and server. The two packed up their things and left the lab.
They drove back to the apartment building and tiptoed up to the fourth floor. David was concerned about Milo, so he followed Leonard into 4A.
Leonard unlocked the door to 4A. The lights inside were off, with only the faint glow of the kitchen nightlight.
They adjusted to the darkness and saw Sheldon's bedroom door tightly shut. Next to Sheldon's bedroom door, against the wall, was a familiar cushioned dog bed—the very one David had bought for Milo at the pet store. It seemed Sheldon had brought it down from upstairs.
Milo was curled up in the dog bed, sleeping soundly. As David and Leonard approached, his small, not-yet-fully-erect ears twitched alertly, and the next second he opened his eyes.
"Hey, Milo," David whispered, squatting down. "Looks like Sheldon took good care of you."
Leonard also squatted down, remarking in a low voice, "He's pretty alert—woke up even with us being so quiet."
David stood up and said to Leonard, "Alright, let him keep sleeping. I won't take him upstairs tonight."
The next morning, David, deep in sleep, was jolted awake by his phone ringing. He fumbled for his phone, pressing the answer button without fully opening his eyes. "Hello?"
"David! It's Sarah!" The voice on the other end was full of apology. "Oh God, judging by your voice, did I wake you up? I'm so sorry..."
David opened one eye and looked at the digital clock on his bedside table—10:47 AM.
"It's fine, Sarah," he cleared his throat. "What's going on?"
Sarah's voice became subdued. "David, I've run into trouble again. This time it's not a technical issue—it's bureaucratic."
"Bureaucratic?"
"Yesterday I contacted my advisor, Professor James, to discuss the new approach using the GPPD system," Sarah began to explain. "But he rejected it."
David frowned. "Why did you suddenly need to go through him? As a postdoc, you should have some independence."
"This involves equipment authorization," Sarah sighed. "To use the GPPD system, a PI at the associate professor level or above must submit an application, complete safety training, and pay equipment usage fees from their research account. As a postdoc, any application I make must be submitted through my advisor, Professor James."
David understood completely. The academic hierarchy was clearly reflected in access to major equipment.
"Why did Professor James refuse?" David asked.
Just then, there was a knock on David's apartment door. He spoke into the phone, "Hold on a second, Sarah, someone's at the door."
He opened the door, and Leonard was standing outside. David gestured for him to come in and continued speaking into the phone, "Sarah, go ahead."
David put the call on speakerphone.
Sarah's voice came through the speaker: "Professor James's exact words were: 'Sarah, you disappoint me. The core competency of our lab is precise molecular-level control and a deep understanding of reaction mechanisms. Your current proposal is to introduce a 'black box' physical process, hoping to solve problems with brute force like high pressure. This is not how we chemists work.'"
She paused, then continued, "He also asked if I knew how much the GPPD system cost per hour, and said his grant didn't have the budget to support it."
David and Leonard exchanged glances.
"So Professor James's main objections are methodological and financial?" David confirmed.
"Yes."
"So Sarah, what are you thinking? Will you give up?"
"Absolutely not!" Sarah's reply was firm. "That night in the lab, the calculation results we got, including the vacancy defect model, already proved your idea was correct. If this experiment fails because Professor James blocked it, or if someone else does it later, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Even if I have to pay out of pocket, I'm doing this experiment!"
David felt a surge of admiration. But the practical problem remained: "But you just said that as a postdoc, the equipment office won't process your application directly."
"That's exactly why I called you, David," Sarah's voice held a hint of hope. "You have the rank of full professor, so you can apply to use the GPPD system, right?"
David paused, understanding Sarah's intention, and said, "I see. I'm willing to help you."
David thought for a moment, then continued, "How about this—I currently have the 3D scanning experiment project, which Leonard and I established together. I can apply to use the GPPD system under our 3D scanning project..."
At this point, Leonard, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up, "David, is it okay to be... creative like this? Our project is condensed matter physics—applying for equipment for chemical material synthesis..."
"Of course it's fine!" David said confidently. "Sometimes science requires some flexibility. In the application, I can say that I need to use the GPPD system to prepare specialized topological insulator thin film samples. The equipment office only cares whether the applicant's credentials are valid and if the funding is secured—they won't dig into what specific experiment I'm actually doing."
After speaking, David turned to the phone: "Sarah, I'll contact the equipment office today to understand the specific application process for the GPPD system. You should also sign up for safety training at the same time."
"Thank you so much, David!" Sarah's voice was filled with gratitude. "I really don't know how to express..."
"Don't thank me yet—wait until the experiment succeeds," David said with a smile. "How about this—we meet at campus this afternoon? You can check with the equipment office first, and then we'll meet to discuss the specific details."
"Perfect! I'm free after 2 PM!"
"Then let's say 2:30 PM at the Athenaeum Café."
David hung up the phone, and before Leonard could speak, he immediately asked, "Where's Milo? This morning, I vaguely heard some dog barking in my sleep—it couldn't have been Milo, could it?"
Leonard gave a knowing smile. "It wasn't Milo!"
"Then whose dog was barking?"
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